The Fallen Warrior
by Urijoshi
Summary: I couldn't take my eye's off of her, I could feel her body trembling under mine. Meg would have cried. Meg cried a lot. Not her though. She did not cry, even though I could tell she wanted to. Secretly, I felt like crying too. Alternate ending, yuri
1. I Don't Want to Fight

**Disclaimer**: **Just in case anyone doesn't know, I don't own Burst Angel or any of the characters from it.**

**A/N****: It's been a while, but I'm writing again. My first Fic in a really long time so be gentle. I hope everyone enjoys and please review, I like those :)**

**The Fallen Warrior **

**Chapter 1****: I Don't Want to Fight**

It was the most painful and fulfilling moment of my life. Every blow I took and received was one step closer I came to really feeling alive. It was as though my life had been completely pointless until that moment. I was forgetting things that even I would normally remember. What was my name, who was it I was looking for, why was I ever wasting my time on those insects I had fought before? All that mattered was the girl in front of me and the feeling of her strong hands holding mine as we tried to overpower each other.

"It's no use!" She screamed at me.

"Yeah! I know...!" I yelled back with a grin on my face as I slammed my head into hers. She stumbled backwards, her forehead bleeding. Blood dripped down to the floor as she held her face. She glared at me with her cold, piercing eyes that were so very much like my own. I couldn't help but smirk even as the blood from my cheek poured down my face.

I no longer cared if I was winning or losing, all that mattered was that I release all of my pent up strength on her. All that mattered was that I hurt her. She ran at me and used both of her legs to kick me in the stomach, sending me flying across the room and into the wall. Blood spilled from my mouth and she jumped off of me only to kick me farther into the wall. She flipped backwards using my stomach as her own personal springboard, her laughter infuriating me more than the kick had. I gritted me teeth until the felt like they would crush as I peeled myself from the wall. As we were both falling to the ground, I used my feet to spring myself off of the wall, much like she had done to me. I launched myself at her and fell into the floor on top of her. As soon as she hit the ground I raised my fist to smash it into her face only to change my mind a split second later. My fist landed painfully into the ground, shattering the floor around us.

We remained still for a moment before she looked up at me. Her red eyes were wide with fear. My left fist was still raised high in the air and my right was still planted in the ground. It was like I was frozen in time. I couldn't move. I couldn't take my eye's off of her, I could feel her body trembling under mine. Meg would have cried. Meg cried a lot. Not her though. She did not cry, even though I could tell she wanted to. Secretly, I felt like crying too.

Suddenly I no longer wanted to fight her. I could remember everything clearly as though someone had chased away the fog that seemed to appear in my mind when we started fighting. Slowly my body seemed to move away from her. She stayed like that for a moment, shaking as though she were still beneath me. I crouched down facing the crater in the wall were I had just been, trying to get the image if her frightened expression out of my mind. She was like an entirely different person. I felt like a villain who had just beat the hell out of a child even though I was the one who took the most damage. Something about her expression, the fear in her eyes, haunted me to no end. I had never felt like that before, I had never shown mercy before.

I could hear her slowly rise from the cracked floor. Suddenly I was mad at her. Why had she reacted that way? What the hell happened to the weapon I was just beating the shit out of?!

"What's happened to me?" She asked as though reading my mind.

How the hell was I supposed to know?

"I don't know why... but I don't want to fight you anymore..." She said with wonderment as though nothing in this world could have been more confusing to her. Then it hit me. I was no genius, very far from it, but it sure as hell didn't take one to see how scared she was just now. Why would she want to fight someone she was terrified of? This revaluation I kept to myself.

"Same here...I'm at my limit..." I confessed to her as I stood up with as much dignity as I could muster in my condition.

"Wait! Why are you stopping?!"

My body trembled a little as I tried to remain on my feet, my teeth again feeling like they were going to be crushed by how hard they were pressed together. I turned to face her and stated the first and most obvious reason. "Because you don't want to fight..." I mean hadn't she just said she didn't want to fight anymore?

"This doesn't make sense..." She informed me as though I didn't already know, "I can't comprehend why I don't want to fight..."

Suddenly it dawned on me, she had never felt fear before. We were never meant to feel fear. We were weapons. But if that was true, then how would they explain what I felt every time Meg was in danger, every time I thought I would never see her again..? And now, she was feeling it as well. Her fear, however, was of me, of losing, of dieing...

"I have never felt this before...!" She said as she stared at her shaking hand then back up at me. "What do I do...?!" She asked me as though I knew all the answers. I said the first thing that popped into my head.

"Live on... and find the answer...!" The last thing I saw was her pale jaw drop. She stared at me as though I had said something strange...Had I?

* * *

I watched her fall as though in slow motion. The sound of her hitting the ground echoed in my mind, lingering even after she had already been laying there. "Jo!" I ran towards her without a single thought in my fucked up head. Why should I be running to the aid of my enemy?! I should be taking this chance to rip her apart like I have been dreaming of since the test! I should be throwing her dead body at the stupid girl and laughing my ass off as she screams! So why the hell am I trying to help her?!

Her words kept playing themselves over and over in my mind. I realized then that I didn't want to die. The thought of it made that feeling grab at my chest. I didn't want her to die either. I suddenly wanted her to protect me like she did Meg. I wanted to be the one who she fought for, I wanted to be the one to believe in her.

The thought of running up to the deck and killing just Meg crossed my mind but I quickly dismissed the idea. Jo would hate me if I hurt her... She might even kill me for it. Again, that feeling rose in me. It felt like something grabbed at my heart like it was trying to pull it out. It beat so hard in it's grasp it hurt. My body started shaking again and sweat poured from my skin. I frantically grabbed on to Jo as though the unconscious woman would save me. Somehow, holding the stronger woman did make me feel better even if it was only a little. She was warm. I pressed my self into her and felt her hair rub against my cheek. I felt in that moment that Jo could do anything. She was the greatest person alive.

_Oh, God, I'm turning into Meg!!!_

I literally screamed at the idea and decided I should probably stop sitting here holding my fallen enemy and turning into the stupid girl. I was going to go insane if I kept that up!

* * *

The vice like grip that had been holding my body loosened somewhat. I couldn't get my eyes to open. All I could do was lay there and feel the pain come over me like waves. It would stop for a few moments, only to come back even stronger a few seconds later. When I felt my body being lifted from the ground, the pain shot through me even more. I thought that if there was ever truly a hell, this was it.

* * *

She was heavier than I thought. Or maybe I was weaker than I thought. My shoulder was beginning to get sore as I carried her to the deck, the sun was blinding as I stepped out. It was a relief to know I wouldn't have to carry her much farther.

I stopped as Meg came into my view. She was sitting on the ground only a few feet away from where I had left her. Her blue eyes were already tearing up as she gazed at the unconscious women who was slung over my shoulder. She looked as though she couldn't believe what was happening.

"Jo...lost?!" She seemed to ask herself more than me as I walked closer to her. "T-that's not possible...!"

She raised to her knees as I got close enough and set Jo down if front of her then backed up to give them some space. She knelled down close to her. "Jo! Come on, now!" She shouted trying to wake her. She held her head close and kept shouting at her. "Don't die, Jo! Say something!"

"Jo isn't dead." I informed her as gently as possible.

"Damn you...!" She looked up at me and shouted, "How could you...! Give her back!"

"It's all right, Meg. She used too much energy fighting me. But don't worry. Her neuro-program reset has began." I kept my voice as calm as possible and tried to keep my face neutral. I didn't want her to know that it hurt to watch them. I wanted to be the one holding Jo and screaming, I didn't want to be the one who hurt her.

Meg's face softened as she looked at me. "I thought you were Jo's enemy...?"

"Not anymore," I told her with a small smile spreading across my face, "I want Jo to live. Because I like her."

Now she looked even more lost. "Huh...?"

My words were lost as a roar came across the ship. I turned around only to see a small flying Cy-bot behind me. "Maria! Obey your orders and under go reprogramming!" It shouted at me with a voice I knew all to well, "Continue to ignore them and you will be disposed of! Respond! Maria!"

My fist clench tightly as the anger inside of me rose. There was nothing wrong with me! "No! I won't be reprogrammed!" I mean sure, I might be feeling and behaving a little strange but I certainly didn't need that! I was perfectly normal!

"By saying that, you've asked to be executed!" He told me in a calm and commanding voice. "Do it!"

I wasn't sure what he meant until I saw one of the storage unit doors being dented from the inside. Red blades of a Cy-bot tore through the metal door. Meg and I watched in horror as two of them came through the storage then, as if things couldn't get worse, we turned to see two others coming up over the wall behind us. More came from seemingly now where, completely surrounding us. Three of them grabbed my own Cy-bot and pulled him away before I could jump in. They tore him apart and let the pieces fall to the ground. I clenched my jaw tightly and tried to stop myself from crying in anger. They had destroyed quite possibly the closet thing I had ever had to a friend in a matter of seconds! He lay there before me, lifeless like stone.

"Meg! Take Jo and jump into the ocean! Hurry!" I commanded her and did not wait for her response as I jumped into action. I may not have been able to save my Cy-bot, but I could still save Jo! And the stupid girl...

I punched one of the Cy-bots that destroyed mine hard and watched with a twisted satisfaction as it cracked. My moment was ruined when they all surrounded me and fired. I had never felt such pain before in my life, but I would trade all I had left to feel it again. Feeling that excruciating pain was far better than feeling nothing at all... Because only the dead felt nothing.


	2. Row Your Boat

**A/N: In this chapter things will start to get different from the anime.**

**Chapter 2: Row Your Boat**

The first thing I noticed was the pain. It seemed to be in every part of my body, making it hurt to even breath. It was an immediate relief, it proved I was alive. I could have cried right then and there from joy. But then I thought of Jo... Was she alive, was The Stupid Girl alive, if they were, where were they? I needed to move, I needed to get up and find them. As I tried to sit up, pain raced through my body and blood spilled into my mouth. I tried to swallow it and to push myself up. My arms couldn't support my weight and I fell back into the sand. I turned my face as to not get the sand in my mouth and sighed as the ocean came up and licked my head. I felt dizzy. I suddenly wondered just how much blood I had lost. I began to really feel like I might be in trouble. That damn feeling started to rise in my chest and I wished nothing more than to just have Jo and my Cy-bot here with me....

"You're so stupid, Jo!!!" I would know that voice anyway. I looked up searching for Meg who I knew had to be close by.

"Meg..." I tired to call out to her but my voice came out barely a whisper. Damn that girl! I tried again to sit up but I just couldn't support myself. I fell back onto the ground and gasped in pain. I needed to get her attention somehow. "Meg..." I called out again but my voice was even softer this time. Darkness crept along my vision. I made another attempt but my arms wouldn't even move this time. Well shit...

* * *

I woke up to the smell of leather and gun powder. I tried to open my eyes but they felt like lead. Something hairy was tickling my chin. I tried to brush it away but my arms wouldn't respond. I was getting that feeling again and I tried even harder to move them. At the sensation of my fingers twitching my heart started to beat like normal again.

_This is okay, everything is going to be just fine! I'm not going to die! _

My eyes slowly started to open. The moon was high in the sky and a patch of red hair was bent over me, seemingly inspecting my wounds. The hairy thing that was tickling my chin was the fur to the red bomber jacket that I had seen Jo weiring before.

"Meg..." I said quietly. She jumped to attention, her face full of anger and relief all at the same time.

"Good, you're awake...I'm glad..." She told me with a tear filled voice that made me worry.

"What's going on, where's Jo?"

She was quiet for a moment before looking back down at the wound on my stomach she was attending to.

"This is going to hurt." She informed me briefly before pulling what must have been a bullet out of my stomach. I gripped the sand beneath me, my eyes wide in pain, and gritted my teeth. "That hurt!" I snapped at her.

Meg gave me a cold look before setting the bullet down in a small pile of others next to her. "I told you it would!" She snapped back. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Jo left... She went to take back Tokyo... She left me here." She said with visible tears brimming her eyes. "I went into town as quickly as I could to get medical supplies after I found you... Stupid Jo..." I listened quietly to her as she looked over my body.

"I think that's all of them but I need you to sit up so I can wrap bandages around your stomach." I nodded and with Meg's help I sat up while she wrapped them around me. That was when it dawned on me that I was naked. My bandaged hands shot up and covered my chest. This got a small laugh from Meg.

"It's a little to late for that, don't you think?" She asked.

I glared at her as a small blush crept across my cheeks all the way to the tips of my slightly pointed ears. "Why did Jo leave you here, aren't you her partner?"

She looked stung as she finished sealing the bandages and sat back. "Because she's stupid!"

I nodded quickly deciding not to disagree with her. "Well, we'll just have to go after her then." I stated simply.

Meg gave me a skeptical look. "And how do you suppose we do that?"

I smirked and pointed to one of the row boats that sat a few feet away form us.

* * *

"Row Meg, row!!!!"

"I'm trying! You could help ya know!!!"

"Me?! But I'm injured! You wouldn't ask a cripple to help, now would you?!" I asked with my arms flailing dramatically.

Meg looked at me with an annoyed expression, "You're not crippled!! Except maybe in the head!"

"No, but I am injured and did almost die saving your sorry ass, now row!!" I shouted with a grin on my face as The Stupid Girl continued to move the ores in the water as fast as she could. "We must save Jo-sama!!"

"Jo-sama...? You know what, I don't want to know..." She said with trying to move the ores even faster which was probably an attempt to get there even faster in order to get way from me.

_Hey, whatever gets her ass movin! _

"Come on, Meg! You keep up this pace and we may as well have taken the long route and walked!!"

"Shut up, Maria!!"

"Huh...? Hey, you shouldn't talk to people who saved your life like that ya know! If I hadn't thrown myself in the way like that, you and Jo-sama never would have made it off that boat!"

"It was your fault we were there in the first place!"

"Yes, but had I not kid napped you, who knows what kind of horrible things they would have done to Jo-sama?!"

"Oh, nothing they would have done can be worse than this!"

"Hehe you wanna bet?! I could do some many horrible things to you even Jo-sama wouldn't recognize you when I'm done!" I said with a grin on my face that made her eye's widen in fear.

"RAPE, RAPE!!!!! FIRE!!!" Meg screamed at the top of her lungs will flailing around like a caged mouse making water splash inside of the boat.

"MWAHAHAHAHA No one will hear you out here!!! In fact, I prefer it if you scream!!"

"AHHH!!! JOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

* * *

I don't know how long it took us to get there but by the time we hit shore the moon was higher in the sky. Meg stepped out first then helped me out which, of course, I resented. These injuries were going to slow me down for a while. I sighed and placed my hands on my hips.

"Now what?" Meg asked in a pissed off tone.

"Hey, I could have just left you back there! Don't be so ungrateful!"

Meg put a very forced smile on her face that made her look creepy. "Then however would you have rowed the fucking boat?!"

I closed me eyes and shrugged. "I would have found a way...eventually..."

"I should have left you to die in the sand!"

I laughed and turned to grin at her. "Aw, what happened to the cheerful girl I met who could only brag about how awesome her partner was? You're just pissed because she ditched your useless ass!"

Meg's face fell and suddenly I felt guilty for what I had said. She turned sharply on her heals and began stomping off.

_Me and my big mouth..._

I sighed and tried to catch up to her which made my legs ache. "okay, okay, I'm sorry, Meg! I didn't mean to say that!"

She slowed down a little but didn't say anything. "Ya know..." I said as I placed my arms behind my head, "If you had just agreed to be mine then we wouldn't be going through this..."

Meg turned around and slapped me hard across the face before stomping off again. I stood there holding my cheek stunned. She hit me! I could see her in the distance rubbing her hand. It didn't really hurt me as much as it hurt her but still! "What the hell was that for?! Meg!" I tried to run after her but my legs simply couldn't take it. Meg turned around and ran towards me as she heard me fall to the ground.

"Are you okay?!"

"My body is covered in holes and you just hit me! Does that seem okay to you?!"

"Yep, you're okay..."

I sneered at her as she helped me up. She looked at me with disapproval before letting me stand on my own.

"What did I do now?!" I asked in annoyance. I was really beginning to wonder what Jo-sama saw in this girl. Yeah, she can be cute, weak, and innocent, but at the same time she was annoying as fuck.

Meg glared at me. "You're always so rude!"

I blinked at her a few times not quite sure what she was talking about. "Um...okay...I'm sorry?"

Meg sighed and looked at me like I was a lost cause. "It's fine, whatever."

In my mind, Meg really should have been the one apologizing, but hey, as long as she was happy. "So, do I get a hug now?"

Meg looked like she would rather not but she tentatively met me in an embrace. I grinned before reaching up and grabbing one of her boobs. Meg let out a scream and jumped away from me, her face crimson. "This is exactly what I'm talking about!!

I couldn't help but hold my stomach and laugh. She was so cute!

* * *

My playful mood was quickly evaporated as we entered to city. The whole place was in ruins. We talked without saying a word to each other. Meg seemed to have forgiven me for my actions earlier but something about the sight before me kept us quiet. It was almost as though talking here was forbidden. The only sound that could be heard was our heels clicking on the concrete that was cracked and in some places completely tore off the ground. The buildings were almost all damaged and the atmosphere it's self was almost choking. I tried not to look up until I saw something that made my heart wrench. I pulled Jo-sama's jacket tighter around me as I stared at what was once Jo's Cy-bot, Django. My throat tightened as I dared myself too look up at the ruins of Tokyo Tower. That's were we saw Jo-sama's scarf blowing in the wind, caught on a pole. It wall seemed hopeless. Meg stepped closed to me, her face surprisingly blank and her eyes dry. "Goodbye, Jo..."

I grasped Meg's hand gently and tried to smile reassuringly at her but I couldn't get my muscles to work. Meg sighed and tightened her hold on my hand. Her lips twitched a little and her eyes began to water. I turned towards her and let go of her hand to wrap her in a hug. I think it was quite possibly the most... _human_ thing I had ever done. Meg's head rested on my shoulder and I felt her body shake against mine as she let out a sob. I never would have thought that I would be standing here, holding a small, innocent girl, mourning over my dead enemy...

"Nothing will ever be the same...Oh God, Jo... You're really gone this time aren't you?" Meg sobbed as she held on to me tightly. It hurt but I didn't have the heart to move her.

This was what I wanted wasn't it? I wanted Jo dead so that Meg would rely on me, so that I could protect her. So why did I feel like the whole world was coming down around me? Why did I feel this huge weight on my chest that threatened to crush me? Why the hell did she die?

I held on to Meg tighter as tears started to fall down my face. It startled me. I had never felt such a sensation before... The next thing I knew I couldn't breath right and I was sobbing into Meg's hair. This terrible feeling, this grasp that tightened around my heart and wouldn't let go, that felt like it was being squeezing my heart into nothing, was the worst thing I had ever felt. I didn't know how I could survive it. If these feelings were what it was like to be human, I wasn't so sure I wanted to be one.

* * *

The sight of Meg crying into someone else's arms made my stomach tighten. I knew I should have run over there and grabbed Meg from her and held her tightly myself, to calm her fears, to tell her that I loved her. This was best for both of us. I couldn't fight with Meg always in the way. No matter what I would always be putting her in danger, I would always be at risk of loosing her. I would have given up every weapon I had, every ounce of strength I had if it meant Meg would live a safe and happy life. I knew that would never happen. This way Meg would be safe. Maria would protect her. My leaving would make both Meg and Maria happier in the long run. Meg would be safe and have some one who would openly show affection for her, Maria would be aloud to live like a human, to feel emotions, and I would be able to fight without worrying about Meg. I loved them both. I don't know why I did, but I couldn't help it. I would die for them in a heart beat, so it was only natural that I would fake my own death for them.

I turned around and left down an alley before Maria's sharp eyes could catch sight of me. A small smirk began to play on my face as I walked quickly down the torn roads of Tokyo. If my enemies thought I was from hell before, they were in for the shock of their lives. I would no longer have to hold back. No one would be safe from the Angel of Hell.

And with that I left with the ruins of Tokyo in my wake.

_Good bye, Meg. Goodbye, Maria._


	3. We're Doing Fine Without You

**A/N: Reviews would be very nice, good or bad :)**

**Chapter 3: We're Doing Fine Without You**

The room was dim with cigarette smoke and filled with the sound of chatter and glasses being slammed on tables. I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply. I loved cigarettes, I don't care about people bitching about how bad they are for you. I also love smokers. Don't get me wrong, I'm talking about real smokers, smokers who enjoy smoking, not those idiots who piss and moan that they can't quit and eat up the sympathy people give them for it. I hate people like that. No, I like smokers who know it's bad, who don't want to quit, and don't give a flying fuck if people disapprove of it. Those are the kind of people that I was surrounded with in that small and cramped bar that had a reputation for it's questionable customers.

I cracked one of my eyes open just a bit to see my partners flaming red hair at a table across from me. A smirk crept on my face as my gaze slowly traveled lower to her ass that was sticking out as she bent over the table trying to grab something out of one of the men's hand that sat across from her. It wiggled around a bit as she continued her struggle which was far from an unpleasant sight.

"Give it back, you asshole!"

"Make me, girly," The man said in a gruff voice as he held what appeared to be Meg's poker earnings higher in his hairy hand.

I sighed and closed my eyes for only a moment longer before uncrossing my legs and rising from my seat. It took me less than a second to appear behind the man and grabbing his fat hand with enough force to cause pain, but not enough to break it. Yet. "Aren't you a little old to be playing keep away with a child?"

Meg glared at my comment but didn't say anything as the man twisted around to get a good look at the person grabbing him. I could see myself reflecting in his dark sunglasses. I had my black leather jacket on with a simple white tank top underneath it along with a very worn pair of jeans and black boots. My long white hair was still in it's braid but my face now bore a thin scar running down my right eye. I watched it wrinkle as my grin grew wider.

"What? You here to protect you girl friend, you fucking dyke?!" He shouted at me.

I tilted my head slightly as my face fell. I wasn't really sure what 'dyke' meant, but I was smart enough to know I was being insulted. My hand grasped his tighter and I could see his face contort in pain.

"Hey, she's not my girl friend!" Meg shouted, her face turning the shade of her hair.

"Meg, sweety, the grown ups are talking right now. You shouldn't interrupt," I said to her a little colder than I had meant to without taking my eyes off of the man before me.

My partner made an exasperated sigh as she stomped off, leaving me to get the money for her.

"Listen to me, you hairy grease ball. You're going to go over to my friend and give her her money back. Then you are going to apologize profusely for upsetting her," I said in a quiet tone as I held his hand tighter. "Do you understand me?" I asked with a squeeze that was hard enough for me to feel his bones grinding together.

He grasped in pain and nodded his head. He looked like he would be sick.

"Good boy," I smiled at myself, feeling very proud for not only showing such restraint, but also using the word 'profusely'. It was a good word.

The man stumbled out of his chair, his hand clutched gently in his other. I grinned ear to ear as I watched him approach Meg tentatively as though afraid of her and handed her the money. I watched him take several bows before walking out of the building like a dog with it's tail between it's legs. Meg looked up at me and I could see her sigh. This didn't bother me as I made my way over to her. We walked out of the bar slowly and stood outside the door. "So, how much money did you earn us?!" I was never aloud to play poker. That was Meg's job. I was terrible at it. I couldn't help but grin whenever I had a good hand or throwing a fit when I had a bad one. Meg wasn't so great at it herself but she had gotten better at it over the years to the point where she hardly ever lost. This of course meant that men who were far to full of themselves often accused her of cheating. Admittedly, we did cheat quite a bit at first but it didn't really seem necessary anymore. Besides, it was harmless cheating, really. I mean no one was going to really miss a few cards disappearing and suddenly changing into new ones....

"5,000 yen."

"That's it?" My face fell quickly and my felt even emptier than before Meg had started playing to earn us some food and shelter for a few days.

"They didn't have anything else or they just didn't play it," Meg said with an even sadder expression than my own. As if to mock us, her stomach growled loudly making people near by stare.

"Meg, how do you expect us to eat if you don't get more money!"

"Well if a certain trigger happy lunatic didn't try to kill every person who has ever hired us, we would have something to eat," She said with a very sour look on her face. It took me a few moments to realize who exactly the trigger happy lunatic was.

"Hey, that man tried to rip us off! I should be paid a lot more than what he was offering for what he was asking!"

"It's not like he was asking for a blowjob, Maria! All you had to do was catch the man who stole his wife's ring, but oh noooo! You had to pull a gun out on him and demand more money, chasing him away!"

"He should have taken it like a man and haggled with me!"

"HAGGLING DOESN'T INVOLVE GUNS, MARIA!!"

"It does if you're cool."

"....I hate you, I really do," Meg said with a sigh as she gave up the argument and held up her hand to stare at the money in her hand. "Well, it's better than nothing."

We both stared at the cash in Meg's hand longly and never noticed the sound of shoes approaching me from behind.

"Excuse me, but are you the mercenaries in this add?" Someone asked as they tapped me on the shoulder. Without thinking I pulled my desert eagle out and pointed it directly at the person's face. He was a balding, middle aged man, who could stand to lose a few pounds in my opinion. He looked at the gun in his face and began to sweat. At some point, I think he forgot to breath. The add he was referring to was on a flier that Meg had passed out about a week ago that he now held out tightly in his hand.

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! YOU CAN'T JUST GO AROUND POINTING YOUR GUN AT PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN HIRING US!" Meg shouted at the top of her lungs causing people on the street to stop in their tracks and watch us as though they were waiting for something.

"Well, he shouldn't have snuck up on me like that," I said defensively as I put my gun back in it's holder that was supported by my belt. "Besides, I could have done worse. I could have pulled my dagger out on him. I can do a lot more damage with that and make it a lot more painful," I stated with a certain amount of pride as my hand twitched as though aching to reach out and slip the dagger from it's sheath that was wrapped around my leg.

Meg looked as though she was going to strangle me as she forced a smile on her face to address the man before me who hadn't moved an inch. "Uh, sorry about her, she's a little insane, but I assure you she is quiet capable of doing any job you have in mind!"

The man nodded with a look on his face that suggested he was too afraid to argue. "Yes, well, I warn you, the job I am asking you to do is a very challenging one, however I will pay you handsomely."

Meg's face lit up. There were two things that Meg truly loved: money and food. "We'll do it!"

* * *

The streets were so crowed you could hardly breath without bumping into to somebody. It was perfect. It aloud me to observe the two women who were across the street from me in front of some sort of shabby looking bar without being noticed. They were having what appeared to be an argument as the one with red hair was getting more frustrated. She wore a red leather bomber jacket with tan fur at the top. The yellow skirt she was wearing with it left little to the imagination. The woman in front of her was in a black leather jacket and jeans. What interested me more was the dagger that was close to a short sword strapped to her leg. That one would be dangerous. The one with red hair was armed as well, with a small revolver, but this did not concern me.

"HAGGLING DOESN'T INVOLVE GUNS, MARIA!!" The one with red hair shouted at the one with white loud enough for me to hear across the busy street.

A smile spread across my face as I watched my father approach the girl with white hair. I nearly leapt out of my skin in excitement as she pulled a gun out and stuck it to his fat face.

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! YOU CAN'T JUST GO AROUND POINTING YOUR GUN AT PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN HIRING US!"

I felt my heart sink as the white haired one put her gun back with a look as disappointed as my own.  
I mentally kicked myself for getting so excited. I should have known better than to have such hopes.

I pulled my hood farther down my eyes as I stalked off down the street. So he was going through with it after all.

* * *

"The job is to kill my son," The man said bluntly. I couldn't believe what the man I had just been envisioning as a cuddly teddy bear just told us.

"Uh, I'm sorry I don't think I heard you right," I said with as much calm as I could. "You want us to do what?"

"You heard me correctly."

"Right, I just wanted to be sure before I started freaking out. Why the hell would you have a contract put out on your own son?! The hell is wrong with you?!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Families were supposed to love each. They would never do something like this to one another. This guy was ruining what my idea of what having a family would be like and I wasn't appreciating it.

" My son has done terrible things," The man said with his eyes downcast. "I love him. He is my son. But I cannot, I will not, allow him to continue to harm others. He must be stopped. The police don't care and I am powerless. That is why I wish to hire you."

Maria grinned in a way that always reminded me of the cute cat from 'Alice in Wonderland'.

"Whatever, I don't care what he's done. Just tell me where he is and I'll do it!" She said with an eagerness that frightened me.

"You can't be serious! What did he do that was so bad that you feel the need to end your own son's life?" I asked with my voice slightly shacking.

"He killed my wife and has done terrible things to her daughter that I do not wish to speak of," The man said with tears leaking from his eyes. "Please, I cannot let him continue this...I must stop him."

I felt my heart sink and my anger and confusion left me in an insist making me feel strangely empty. It never ceased to surprise me how cruel humans were. They lied, stole, cheated, killed, raped, tortured, humiliated and defiled one another. It never seemed fair how cruel humans and life itself was. It was cruel I never had a family, that I was homeless along with children that I had to take care of, that Jo and Maria had been experiments, how they were raised, how they lived. Our lives were filled with misery and very few good memories. Yet somehow we got through it because we had each other. I had Shirley, Charlie, Dorothy, Sei, Amy, Jo, and even that annoying sip of a boy, Kyohei. I could never imagine what my life would be like if I had never met them. I loved them, they were my family. Even though they were gone, living their own lives or dead, I still loved them. And now I had Maria. Maria never had anyone to love her. She was always alone. She never got away like Jo did. Living like that for so long broke her for life.

It scared me to think that Jo could have ended up like her. Jo was my guardian, my best friend, and my biggest crush for years. I loved her more than I have ever loved anyone in my life. She protected me from the world. When she left I felt like all the things she was shielding me from came slamming into me all at once. I thought I wouldn't be able to survive it. I didn't believe I would ever truly get over it. Her death would haunt me for the rest of my life. But I was okay. I had Maria by my side. Maria and I need each other and no one else. We were quite capable with just the two of us. Maria was like a lover, a best friend, and a sister all rolled into one.

Family, weather by blood or not, was the most important thing in this world. It shook me to no end to know that people could do things like that to their own family. The thought broke my heart.

* * *

I didn't know what the hell Meg was so upset about but I didn't like it. I mean sure, Meg was upset all the time, but this was different.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and watched her intensely, fearing she was going to break out into tears at any minute. Suddenly, Meg lifted her head and looked at the man with her bright blues eyes shining in determination. "Don't worry, We'll take care of it."


End file.
